Third Time's the Charm?
by Jeune Ecrivain
Summary: After escaping from Lockwood Manor, Claire and Owen comfort Maisie when she realizes the full implications of her decision to release the captive dinosaurs. They then discuss what Maisie means for them as a reconciled couple.


**Third Time's the Charm**

 **By Jeune Ecrivain**

 **Rating: T (for language)**

 **Summary: After escaping from Lockwood Manor, Claire and Owen comfort Maisie when she realizes the full implications of her decision to release the captive dinosaurs. They then discuss what Maisie means for them as a reconciled couple.**

"How long will it take for the police or the government to round up the dinosaurs?"

The question caught both Owen and Claire off guard as they turned to face the 10-year-old who had uttered it. The three of them had stopped at the first decent hotel they could find, and this was the first thing Maisie had said in the roughly ten minutes since they piled into their room, as if politely waiting for Owen to redress the deep wound in Claire's leg according to the paramedics' advice. Both adults suspected, though, that deep thought also played a part in her having spoken so little since their escape from Lockwood Manor.

Claire and Owen exchanged a quick look before Owen spoke up. "Maisie, it's not that simple. We're talkin' weeks at least, more likely months, possibly even years."

"I mean the ones that I let out, not the ones that got shipped off," the young girl replied, furrowing her brow in confusion.

"So did Owen," Claire said, evoking a nod of confirmation from him. "I mean, yeah, the free ones will probably be caught before the ones that were sent away, but even still, it's gonna take a few weeks at least."

"But…some of them might have wandered out of the woods and into town by then," Maisie said with a barely audible hitch in her voice.

"I doubt that'll take weeks," Owen sighed. "I give 'em a few days at most." He instantly regretted his words as both he and Claire almost simultaneously noticed the girl's eyes widening in a nascent panic. "Maisie, what did you think…?"

"I lived in the middle of nowhere! I thought the woods would be plenty of space for them and the police or the FBI or someone would be able to round them all up before they ever got close to any other people!" Owen and Claire might've found Maisie's naïve trust in governmental efficacy cute were they not preoccupied with how desperate she suddenly looked. "No one's gonna get eaten or trampled, are they?"

Owen's lips formed a tight line as he exchanged another glance with Claire, who looked as hopeless and conflicted as he felt. He did not want to lie to the kid, but the truth was harsher than any that someone her age should ever have to face.

Unfortunately, Maisie's sharp mind made the decision for both of them, as their moment of hesitation was all it took to betray them. Hot tears sprang instantly to the child's eyes. "No! Please!" she cried. "I wanted to save the dinosaurs, but not if it meant…" Both adults were at her sides immediately, Claire neither noticing nor caring about her leg's brief protest as Maisie let her sentence fade into a thick sob. "What have I done?!"

Claire's own eyes moistened as she gripped Maisie's shoulders gently. "Oh, sweetie, no, no! You didn't mean it! We all know that!"

"People are going to die because of me!" Maisie emitted a half-sob/half-wail that broke both Claire and Owen's hearts. "It's all my fault!"

"No, it's not!" Owen contested resolutely. "Maisie, look at me." He tapped her chin, and with a sniff, her red, tear-stained face turned to meet his gaze. In that moment, looking into the child's still overflowing eyes, Owen could not help but think that Mills had gotten lucky when that theropod devoured him. Otherwise, he might have hunted down the greedy cretin himself and beaten him in such a way as to make him beg for the sweet release of a tyrannosaur's jaws. "This is not your fault," he intoned. "You didn't know anyone else would be put in danger when you opened those doors, so as far as you knew, you were just setting innocent creatures free, and that's what really matters. It's like Claire here. She thought she was collecting the dinosaurs on Isla Nublar in order to rescue them from a volcano and take them to a safe place where they would be free to roam. She had no idea what Mr. Mills' real plans were." At this point, he threw a gentle yet pointed look at Claire, whose eyes met his as she merely swallowed in response. "So, do you think anyone should blame Claire for all those dinosaurs ending up in cages?"

Maisie sniffed again and shook her head. "No," she replied in a tiny voice.

"Then don't you go blaming yourself for this," Owen told her. "You made an honest mistake, just like Claire did, but your intentions were all good, just like hers." He paused before continuing. "Now, you're a smart kid, so I'm not gonna lie to you. The consequences are going to be pretty bad, probably even tragic in some cases. But no matter how terrible they are, none of this changes the fact that you didn't mean any of it. At the end of the day, you wouldn't have even had to make that choice if Mills and his selfish goons hadn't tried to exploit the dinosaurs in the first place. It won't always be easy, but I want you to do your best to remember that, okay?"

Maisie was still crying profusely as she nodded, but both adults could tell that Owen had at least relieved the worst of her anguish, which was the best either could hope for at the moment. Claire had barely even realized that she was stroking the child's hair until the girl leaned into the contact and turned to her. "He's right, you know. None of this is on you, Maisie. If anything, we're proud of you for wanting to help those dinosaurs so much." At this, the young girl gasped softly, buried her head in the redheaded woman's shoulder, and continued weeping.

As much as Owen hated to admit it, Maisie's decision to unleash the otherwise doomed dinosaurs on California had seemed unsettlingly callous to him. Even the startling discovery that she was a clone, like all the trapped animals technically were, only went so far in accounting for such extreme measures. Of course, Owen was all in favor of saving the de-extinct creatures, but doing so at the virtually inevitable cost of at least a few innocent human lives was a clear step too far, as Claire had obviously realized in that fateful control room. Now, though he took no joy in Maisie's pain, he did find a form of relief, as the child's choice now made much more sense as a consequence of naivete, particularly in one who he suspected had previously lived a very isolated and sheltered life.

Owen stayed by Maisie's side for a few more minutes before he rose to take a much-needed shower. He would have offered first dibs to Claire, but she seemed unlikely to budge from serving as a literal shoulder to cry on for the child, and he could hardly blame her. So instead, he caught her eye and jerked his head in the direction of the bathroom, at which she nodded before shushing Maisie and stroking her upper arms. When a refreshed Owen emerged from the bathroom a short while later, Maisie's tears had dwindled just enough for the adults to brave talking her into a shower of her own, and they agreed that Claire would follow immediately after.

After everything that had happened, it came as no surprise that Maisie was conked out on one of the room's two queen beds shortly before Claire emerged from her own turn in the bathroom. The sun was beginning to set, and Claire basked for a moment in the warmth of renewed cleanliness after a harrowing couple of days. Soon, she and Owen both found themselves sitting on the floor with their backs slouched against the side of the unoccupied bed, each nursing a complementary beer from the mini-fridge.

A minute or two of silence in that position passed before Owen attempted a small smile at Claire, who seemed to be lost in thought, and probably not the good kind.

"I meant it, you know."

Claire blinked. "Hmm?"

"What I said to Maisie applies to you too. This wasn't your fault."

Claire took another swig of beer. "Maybe not directly, but as much as I hate to say it, I think Mills had a point. Are we really that much different from him?"

Owen sighed. "Claire, that douchebag manipulated you once in life. Don't let him do it again in death."

"If you just think about it…"

"I have," Owen interrupted firmly. "That's exactly why I know he was wrong." He set his beverage down on the floor. "First of all, neither one of us ever lied to or manipulated anyone in pursuing our goals for the park or the DPG. Second of all, even though the park wasn't exactly the best at seeing the dinosaurs as anything more than commercial assets, they were still treated much better there than by Mills and his buyers. Plus, you may have had a certain…cool detachment…from the animals in the beginning, but you were never downright cold. If you were, the whole experience at Jurassic World wouldn't have changed you anywhere near as much as it did. You wouldn't have wept over a dying brachiosaur or felt compelled to throw yourself into a whole protection movement as some kind of penance. And that brings me to the third thing, which is that intentions matter, like we both told Maisie. At the park, we were both advancing our careers in what we at least thought were legitimate and harmless jobs. This time around, we were trying to save several endangered species who weren't even really supposed to exist anymore. Meanwhile, what was Mills trying to do? Get rich, by selling dangerous animals as weapons on a mostly black market, no less! And to top it all off, he straight-up murders someone and traumatizes a little girl!" Talking about it was making Owen's temper as well as his voice rise, so before he accidentally roused Maisie, he took a calming drink of his beer and continued in softer tones. "If you and I are guilty of anything, it's overconfidence in our ability to control the situation, and even then, most of the responsibility in that regard lies with our former higher-ups at the park. We underestimated the risks. Mills either knew the risks and didn't care or couldn't be bothered to really assess them. The dipshit couldn't see past the dollar signs in his eyes."

Claire stared at Owen. She had no idea that he had thought so much about it, and although the possibility that she was simply yielding to the temptation of being lenient on herself still nagged at her, she had to admit his perspective had some merit. Her gut certainly felt better after considering his words, so for the moment at least, she wordlessly conceded that he made sense and gave him a tentative smile. "Okay, fine," she said as she imbibed another mouthful of beer. "I guess you're right, and in any event, blaming myself doesn't seem to help anything." Her eyes landed on Maisie's sleeping form, and her expression turned to one of concern. "Now, what do we do about her?"

Owen exhaled. "Well, we should probably track down that Iris woman and…" He trailed off when Claire looked crestfallen and shook her head. He did not like the look of that. "Claire, what happened?"

She glanced again at Maisie to ensure that she was still asleep before answering. "I found her body while I was on my way to the roof with the laser gun."

"Jesus!" Owen cursed. "First her 'grandfather,' and now her nanny!"

"I know," said Claire with another hopeless shake of her head. "I don't know how we're gonna tell her."

He looked at her for a moment before taking her hand in his. "Together, that's for sure."

Claire smiled at that and nodded. "I'll check in the morning, but I'm pretty sure she has no legal guardians left. If so, I don't think I like what comes next."

"Child services, then foster care with some complete strangers who, for all we know, won't really give a damn as long as they get their money. Yeah, I'm not likin' the sound of that either. And that's assuming no one finds out about the whole clone thing!"

"Plus, even if they do find a decent foster family for her, they almost certainly won't be prepared to deal with or even really understand everything she's been through."

"It probably won't be easy getting custody, but I might be able to get a good lawyer through some of my navy connections."

"So we agree then?" Claire surmised. "She stays with us?"

Owen scoffed. "Was there ever really any doubt?" His smirk turned to a warm smile that mirrored hers before he continued. "I'm pretty sure only one of us can be the official guardian, and it should probably be you, but I'll be there for you as the unofficial guardian…as long as you'll have me."

With that, they had arrived at the other elephant in the room, and Claire was not sure whether she was grateful or annoyed that he was the one to finally lead them there. She paused before speaking again. "Owen, about us,…I think you know I'm ready and willing to try again if you still want me,…"

"I do," he confirmed, his lips forming a paradoxically warm yet playful half-smile/half-smirk that he reserved just for her.

Clearing her throat, she continued. "But if we're going to do this, we can't be stupid about it. Not with Maisie in the midst. I'm pretty sure we just agreed to essentially become parents together, and there's a good chance Maisie will tend to think of us at least somewhat in that capacity anyway. If we weren't the closest thing she's ever had before, we're at least the closest thing she's got now."

"No argument there," Owen replied thoughtfully.

"Right, so after everything she's been through, one of the last things she needs is for her sort-of-parents to split up. She needs stability, but at the same time, our future as a couple isn't guaranteed yet, especially not with our track record. Now, I'm not saying we should stay together no matter what just for Maisie's sake, but if we do eventually decide it's not going to work out, it needs to be for a damn good reason that can't feasibly be resolved any other way. No taking things said in the heat of an argument too literally…" She gave him a pointed look before quickly throwing him a bone. "…or being a control freak and getting frustrated when one of us won't let the other drive his or her van."

"Yeah, both of those were kinda stupid."

Both of them braved a chuckle before Claire cleared her throat again. "The point I'm trying to make is…we need to communicate, and we need to make sure we're focusing on the things that really matter."

"I get it, Claire," Owen responded with an earnest nod. "Look, as long as we're being serious here, losing you was hard enough the first time around, so the last thing I ever want to do now is take this second chance for granted. That would be true with or without Maisie, but since she is a part of this, well, I wouldn't want to be a sort-of-parent with anyone else but you."

"Me neither," Claire breathed with a contented, moist-eyed smile.

Owen cupped her face in his hands. "You know I love you, right?"

She looked into his eyes and nodded. "I love you too."

His warm smile morphed into a smirk, and Claire knew Owen had decided it was time for some levity. She welcomed it, though, because she could tell that he was as sincere as she was. "Just one question. Does this mean you're going to be more lenient on the dress code for dates?"

Claire rolled her eyes. "Fine," she smiled again before quickly assuming a semi-playful sternness. "But I swear to God, Owen, if you wear boardshorts to our wedding…"

He grinned. "So there's a wedding now?"

She sighed in exasperation. "Just…shut up and kiss me!" Nevertheless, it was she who grabbed his shirt collar and brought his lips to hers, burying her hands in his hair as he wasted no time in returning the kiss. After everything they had been through, that one liplock that held so much promise somehow made them both feel ready to face whatever came next.


End file.
